Charlton Heston has died. Never has one actor starred in so very many cheesy movies without earning an Ed Wood-like reputation. Think about it: all of those weird 1950s biblical/ancient world epics (The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur), then the 1960s and 70s sci-fi and disaster movies (The Planet of the Apes and sequels, Soylent Green, and Earthquake). How did he do it? Maybe by taking himself and all of these roles so seriously, and remaining resolutely humorless in spite of the laughable material he was asked to perform.
And remember: Soylent green? “It’s people!!!”
Historiann 
If you don’t know Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, I recommend you stop whatever you’re doing and rent it, or at least move it to the top of your Netflix queue. Heston as a Mexican federal narcotics cop–in brownface, but (mercifully) with no accent–married to blond gringa Janet Leigh, the pair of them falling foul of the damndest collection of freaky character actors (including Welles in a fat suit) you ever did see. Dennis Weaver as the NIght Man is worth the price of admission, and that’s without mentioning Mercedes McCambridge as a butch biker…
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Hey–thanks for the tip! I should have mentioned that he was also in A Touch of Evil, and not only in cheesball movies. Working with Orson Welles must have been the highlight of his career.
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